Darius Fulghum is thrilled to land a hometown showcase to cap a productive and active 2023 campaign.
The Houston-bred light heavyweight will enter the ring for the sixth time on the year, this one in a televised clash versus Iowa’s Pachino Hill (8-4-1, 4KOs). Their scheduled eight-round contest will open a four-fight DAZN telecast topped by the Ryan Garcia-Oscar Duarte junior welterweight clash this Saturday at Toyota Arena in Fulghum’s hometown of Houston, Texas.
“I’m always blessed to get this opportunity for my hometown,” Fulghum said during the final pre-fight press conference Thursday at Hilton-Americas in Houston. “I grew up in Killeen, Texas but I moved to Houston in 2016, This is my home. Every time I see Houston, I think about the sacrifices I made to get here.
“I think about the times I’d wake up at 4am to go the gym. Go to class right after that. There were times I’d sleep In my car in the parking garage. I went to clinics for hours to get my nursing degree and then right back to the gym. I did that for years, struggled. I put all the sacrifices in, can’t let it go to waste. Saturday night, I get to show that reason.”
Fulghum saw his bout bumped up to the main telecast after the show lost its originally scheduled co-feature. England’s Ohara Davies eventually received his visa paperwork but not in time to travel to the U.S. for his now-postponed interim WBA junior welterweight title fight versus Venezuela’s Ismael Barroso.
It gives Fulghum (8-0, 8KOs) the chance to showcase his talents in front of a much wider audience than normal. The bout is his fifth in Texas but first in his hometown. He has stopped all eight opponents to date, none of which have lasted beyond the sixth round.
The multi-talented 27-year-old is also a licensed nurse. He earned his degree from Prairie View A&M University in 2019, one year after he won the National Golden Gloves in the 201-pound division.
For now, he’s content with his newfound status as the future of the super middleweight and light heavyweight cro
“Houston, we here baby,” noted Fulghum. “I’m blessed to get this opportunity here in front of everybody. I’m always blessed to get this opportunity for my hometown.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox